Chapter 156

Sarah's POV

I stormed into my apartment, violently tossing my purse onto the sofa and kicking off my high heels in frustration. Damn Philip! I thought,grinding my teeth. He couldn't even complete one simple task-what a worthless man! My plan had been so perfect: follow him, capture his confrontation with Annie on video, then upload it online for everyone to see the true face of that pretentious country girl from Boston.

"Incompetent bastard!" I slammed my fist against the sofa armrest,my knuckles stinging with pain. What good was that man besides his money?The mere thought of Howard intervening made my entire body tremble with rage. I abruptly stood up, grabbed a magazine from the coffee table and tore it to shreds, watching the paper fragments flutter like snowflakes onto the carpet.

This wasn't enough to quell my anger. I turned and kicked the wall,leaving a shoe print on the pristine surface.

I opened my phone and stared at the video I'd secretly recorded. If this footage were released, it would only attract more fans to Annie."Absolutely not!" I hissed through clenched teeth, deleting the video without hesitation. I would never do anything that might benefit that woman.

I collapsed back onto the sofa, taking a deep breath and forcing myself to calm down. "Annie, you're forcing me to use this tactic," I muttered under my breath. Every time I sent Philip to handle my problems, he ruined everything. Since that approach had failed, I needed a different strategy.I refused to stand by and watch Annie live a better life than mine. I opened my phone and found Robert's number.

The screen showed at least a dozen messages from him, none of which I'd bothered to answer. Now was the perfect time to use him. I couldn't reveal my true intentions outright-that might trigger his resistance.

"Hi, how have you been?" I sent a disingenuous greeting.

As expected. he responded almost instantly: "Sarah? I'm good. How are you? I've been messaging you."

I could almost picture his stupid expression lighting up at seeing my message. Men were so easily manipulated. Howard would eventually respond to me the same way, I thought smugly.

"Sorry, I've been really busy," I continued weaving my lies, "I've been meaning to reply, but I just couldn't find the time."

"It's fine. I'm just happy to hear from you," he replied.

"How's the kid?" I asked, knowing this questionwould touch him.

"Everything's normal, thanks for asking."

I asked a few more questions about his recent life, pretending to be a caring ex-wife. After several exchanges of pleasantries, I felt the moment was right to broach my actual topic: "By the way, I just remembered,something.You recorded a video when you were intimate with Annie,right?"

"What?" His reply was noticeably hesitant.

"Send me the video," I commanded directly.

"You need to tell me what you plan to do with it first then Tu decide whether to give it to you."

I smirked contemptuously, not bothering to pretend anymore: "It's simple.Annie's been making me uncomfortable lately, so I want to upload the video of you two online. When people see Annie fooling around before her divorce was finalized. they'll definitely criticize her."

I could imagine all the wonderful consequences: Annie's carefully built online reputation instantly destroyed, Howard losing interest in her,her comic and merchandise sales plummeting below mine. The thought filled me with such pleasure that I couldn't help but smile.

Nothing in the world was more satisfying than watching someone you despise get dragged down from their pedestal while you soared to new heights.

When he didn't respond for several minutes, I called him directly: "Hello?"

"I don't want to talk to you right now," his voice sounded muffled.

What kind of attitude was this? Since when did he have the courage to disobey me? I frowned.

"Just send me what I want first," I said impatiently.

"Have you considered that after it's released, people will see me too? What will they think of me?" He was actually hesitating.

How troublesome. Men always became cowardly at such moments. Philip was useless, but at least he wasn't so indecisive.

"You have a good physique and stamina. People will only envy you when they see it." I casually reassured him. This kind of fragile male ego always needed sweet talk to appease.

"But I don't want to do this."

I remained silent, waiting for him to continue. Was he starting to resist me?This was new. I needed to handle this carefully-I couldn't afford to lose such an important pawn.

Seeing he was about to hang up. I quickly added: "I'll blur your face before uploading it."

He gave a bitter laugh, then told me: "I'm sorry to inform you, but Annie and I never had that kind of relationship. Although I did record a video,I guess it's not what you're looking for. I can send it to you if you want.But I can tell you this-if it were released,people would only praise Annie for being... smart."

What?! I nearly threw my phone against the wall. He never slept with Annie? This useless man! I had calculated everything so carefully, only to stumble at this point. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm.

I heard him opening his computer, and then my phone received a file.Whatever this video contained, it clearly wouldn't serve my purpose.

"I just want to ask you one question..." his voice sounded choked.

I didn't need to open this stupid video,asking lazily: "What?"

"Did you ever love me?"

The question caught me off guard. Still hung up on this? What a pathetic man. I leaned back on the sofa, seriously considering how to answer.Finally, I said: "I must have loved you. Otherwise, with so many wealthy men pursuing me, why would I have chosen to marry you?" The truth, of course, was that he had been richer than my other suitors at that time.

"I understand. Thank you," he said softly.

I hung up without hesitation, throwing my phone onto the sofa. "Useless!They're all useless!" I cursed through gritted teeth, my fists clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white. Philip was useless, botching even a simple confrontation; Robert was even more useless, not even having a damn video! Why was I surrounded by such incompetent men?

I jumped to my feet. pacing back and forth in the living room,my chest heaving violently. I couldn't swallow this anger! Annie Baker, that pretentious Boston woman-why did she get everything? Her comics were bestsellers, she had a man like Howard defending her,and what did I have? I was trapped here, watching my plans fail one after another!

"No, I won't give up," I muttered, my voice trembling with fury. "This isn't over."

I bit my lower lip so hard I tasted blood. I wouldn't fail again. I would devise a foolproof plan. Whatever the cost, I would make Annie disappear completely from Howard's life. This was my promise, and my curse.